Artists Photoshop Woman To Show Beauty Standards

If you think beauty standards are only real in America, think again. In a virtual study, Online Doctor's global beauty standards Photoshop experiment sent 18 editors across the globe one woman's photo to see how it would be altered. By the time you get to the end of the pictures, it's clear to see how confusing the ideal beauty standard is, because, well, beauty is in the eyes of the country.

Perceptions of Perfection was thought up by the U.K-based company to "better understand potentially unrealistic standards of beauty and to see how such pressures vary around the world," according to their site. Designers from 18 countries were told to Photoshop the woman to fit their country's beauty standards, and some of the results were shocking. Using mainly female designers, the experiment was a glimpse into the pressures that women all across the globe face when it comes to beauty ideals. This experiment echoed the original beauty standards Photoshop experiment done by Esther Honig.

All of the countries slimmed the woman's virtual waist and did some kind of alteration to her thighs. But out of all the countries, China and Italy's images were most shocking. According to Online Doctor, both images was Photoshopped down to unhealthily thin levels, showing just how much pressure is on all women to fit the changing perceptions of beauty.

What was shocking to me was the dreaded, unnatural thigh gap situation. While not all countries gapped the thighs of the image, 13 out of the 18 did, and all of the designers made the woman's legs smaller. Every single country made the stomach flatter, even if only by a small amount, and exaggerated the hourglass shape of the waist. The pressures to look a certain way are real, but when we start celebrating every body, the rest of the world will too.

1. Argentina

2. Colombia

3. China

4. United States

5. Italy

Pressures to look a certain way appear all across the globe, but ultimately I think this shows how much all bodies are beautiful. It's time we start celebrating each and every one.

Images: onlinedoctor.superdrug.com; Hugo Felix/Shutterstock